Mark Cuban: ‘Nobody right now’ in Democratic primary field would beat Donald Trump

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban said Tuesday that “nobody right now” in the Democratic primary field would beat President Trump in 2020 while leaving open the possibility of running as an independent.

Asked which Democratic presidential candidate had the best chance against Mr. Trump, Mr. Cuban replied, “Nobody right now.”

“I think what people are missing is if you look at why people voted for Donald Trump, in my opinion, it was because, first and foremost, it was because he wasn’t a politician,” Mr. Cuban told CNBC. “And look, if you look at the Democratic field, it’s all politicians, and politicians are the least trusted of every profession.”

Mr. Cuban, whose net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion, didn’t rule out a run for the White House in 2020, but said it “would take a thunderstorm for me to do it,” citing the toll a campaign would take on his three young children.

“We’ll see what happens … the definition of bad parenting is running for president when you have three young kids, 9, 12 and 15,” Mr. Cuban said. “So there’s some things that could open the door. I’m not projecting or predicting right now.”

Mark Cuban leaves open possibility of running for president as an independent https://t.co/agGUGSLChQ

— CNBC (@CNBC) May 14, 2019

An NBA team owner and one of the stars the ABC reality show “Shark Tank,” Mr. Cuban said if he did run, he would do so as an independent.

“I still think there’s a real opportunity for somebody who is in the middle but has some charisma, has the ability to relate to both sides, but is not a politician,” Mr. Cuban said. “The reality is that people don’t trust politicians, period, end of story.”

Another well-known billionaire, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, announced in January that he is exploring running for the White House as an independent.

Mr. Cuban also criticized what he described as the Democratic “trickle-down taxation” proposals, calling them “headline porn.”

What about former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who leads in the Democratic primary polls?

“There’s nobody that really stands out, even though Biden’s leading the polls,” Mr. Cuban said. “I like Vice President Biden, I think he’s smart, I think he could do a decent job, but I think it’s still way too early to tell, and there’s a lot of change yet to come.”